From FREELANCE to FULL TIME FILMMAKER - How to make it happen

Описание: So you enjoy filmmaking, you’re picking up some freelance gigs right now but you want to go full time filmmaker with it soon. How do you bridge that gap??

Here’s how to do it. Here’s how I went from freelance for 2.5 years to becoming a full time filmmaker for the last 6 years.

High level:

1. Pick a niche you have immediate access to
2. Build your portfolio (do spec work if you have to)
3. Take a small job to build a relationship
4. Be insanely reliable
5. Leverage social media (where you may not expect)


Take a small job to build a relationship:
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve taken a small job, like $1,000 or less because I was confident it would lead to a great partnership in the future. I’m not saying you need to undersell yourself every time. I’m saying if a small project comes in from a company that you know has deeper pockets. DO THE SMALL JOB AND BLOW THEM AWAY.
It always leads to bigger jobs.
An example for me: I did a $800 job for a big medical practice in town. I did it really well. And then by the end of 3 months I had done nearly $20,000 with them.


Pick a niche you have access to:
I had a lot of connections in the non-profit and corporate space. So I started there as a freelance filmmaker. I talked to the people I was connected with and pitched my service to solve a problem for them. Hey you want to connect with your community, what would it look like to create a video to reach your audience? What stories could we tell?
For you that might be music. Or it might be products. Or it might be small shops. Wherever you have connections right now, that niche, is where you need to dig in more as you're a freelance filmmaker. Because that’s where you can see immediate opportunity and then growth.

Build your filmmaking portfolio:
You must have a portfolio of some kind. Build out a simple website. Embed your videos on there. Showcase what you’ve done because that’s what you use to pitch people. Then cross post on social media as well. So your portfolio holds all of your work, and social media helps you distribute it.
A tip for building your portfolio: if you don’t have many videos to showcase or you’re not proud of anything yet, then you need to do some spec work. Lean on your connections and dream with them. Ask them… what would it look like to have a video for x? What could you do with that? Cast that vision for them and entice them. Then do the work really well and there’s a portfolio piece.

Be insanely reliable as a filmmaker:
People don’t always buy from the most talented filmmaker, they buy from the filmmaker they can rely on.
Can you get the job done for them well and on time? Are you easy to work with?
A client really doesn’t care if you’re creating the Mona Lisa for them but it’s 2 weeks late. You’re fine tuning your color grade. Adding all of this sound design. Hey client, just another day I promise and you’re going to be amazed. NO. They want a solid video, by their deadline. End of story.

Leverage social media to show your filmmaking skills:
Figure out where the decision makers of your niche are hanging out. Maybe they aren’t on Instagram. Maybe they’re on Facebook or LinkedIn. Hmmm…. That would suck to dump all of your energy into IG and the people who buy from you aren’t active on there.
When I was growing from freelance to full time filmmaker, I was posting consistently on Facebook because the older generation was on there but they were also the marketing VPs or directors at businesses who made the decisions. It wasn’t the hipster 20 year olds on IG or TikTok who were going to hire me.
So understand where your audience is on social media, where those decision makers are who cut the checks, and market to them there even if it’s not your personal platform of choice.

All of this adds up to one really important thing: RELATIONSHIP

People buy from people they know. They stick with people they can trust and enjoy working with. So if you’re going to move from freelance to full time, you have to build RELATIONSHIPS. You can’t avoid that.

Build strong relationships. Get people to trust you as their filmmaker, be likable and honest, and you will get repeat business. I’ve focused way more on relationships over specifics of gear and it’s gotten my business to a quarter of a million in revenue.
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GEAR I RECOMMEND AND USE:
Travel tripod: https://amzn.to/3JS63SG (Amazon)
Favorite Camera Strap: https://amzn.to/3SQrms8 (Amazon)
Favorite SSD Drives: https://amzn.to/3AiainC (Amazon)
My Daily Backpack: https://amzn.to/3bVgusi (Amazon)
Tech Pouch: https://amzn.to/3wqkb0j (Amazon)
Best SD Cards for 4K Filming: https://amzn.to/3C54TSe (Amazon)